On this episode of Luxury Cruising, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis sits down with luxury travel creator Joy to unpack her unforgettable experience aboard the inaugural sailing of Four Seasons Yachts. From helicopter excursions and Michelin-star dining to personalized service unlike anything found on mainstream cruise lines, Joy shares what it was really like aboard one of the most exclusive cruise experiences in the world.
What does a $350,000 cruise suite look like, and can Four Seasons Yachts truly redefine luxury at sea?
In this episode of Luxury Cruising, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis welcomes luxury traveler and content creator Joi, to discuss her firsthand experience aboard the highly anticipated inaugural sailing of Four Seasons Yachts. Joi shares every detail of the ultra-luxury experience, from personalized embarkation and 710-square-foot suites to heated bathroom floors, translucent TVs, and staff who knew every guest by name. The conversation explores how Four Seasons is bringing its iconic hotel service standards onto the water while creating something entirely different from traditional cruising.
The episode also dives into the realities of ultra-luxury cruising, including pricing, what is and isn’t included, entertainment expectations, and why returning to mainstream cruising afterward may feel impossible.
Listeners will hear about helicopter excursions to Michelin-star restaurants in Provence, private Mercedes transfers, curated culinary experiences, luxury spa amenities, and the surprisingly intimate atmosphere created by hosting only 137 guests onboard. If you’ve ever wondered what the future of luxury cruising looks like, this episode offers an exclusive inside look at one of the most talked-about yacht launches in the world.
Episode Highlights:
About the Guest:
Joi G, also known as Travel Bug Diva, is a luxury travel content creator known for sharing high-end travel experiences across Instagram and TikTok. Having visited over 50 countries and more than 100 cities, she specializes in showcasing luxury hotels, cruises, fine dining, and unique travel experiences around the world.
Instagram: @TravelBugDiva
TikTok: @TravelBugDiva
About the Host:
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis is a pediatrician, executive, and life coach for neurodiverse physicians—and the passionate host behind Luxury Cruising. She brings expert insight and honest excitement to every interview, helping curious travelers elevate their adventures at sea.
📍 Website: luxurycruising.net
📧 Email: luxurycruisingpodcast@gmail.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/krystalsodaitis
📝 Looking for the perfect luxury cruise: Take our quiz
👥 Want to be a guest? Fill out this form to connect.
Looking for the perfect spa experience: Spa table
[00:00:00] Welcome back to Luxury Cruising. I'm your host, Krystal Sodaitis, and I am so excited. As I alluded to last week on the podcast, I have Joy, who's going to tell us about what has to be the pinnacle event of cruising for this year, and that is the inaugural sailing of Four Seasons Yachts.
She's here to tell us all the inside scoop. Can't wait to dig into it. Joy, please tell the audience anything you want them to know about you. Well, I am a heavy traveler, like, that's all I like to do. Um, I create a lot of high-performing luxury content on Instagram, mainly, but on TikTok, it's more for, the everyday people, that I kinda go for.
But my life just generally revolves around traveling. I've been to 52 countries so far and a little over 100 cities. Also, I was just, featured in USA [00:01:00] Today as well. Awesome. Wow. Can't wait to hear more about your travel. So back us up and tell us- ... how did you even get a stateroom, get invited?
How did it happen? my friend. she's my best friend. She's just like me when it comes to traveling, so that's really, like, all we do. And she came to me and she was like, "Let's do the Four Seasons cruise." Okay.
is the only answer. So I didn't really know what to expect. absolutely nothing. All I knew was a trip. That's all I knew. So what I got was way more than what I expected. I really didn't have any really expectation. I just knew it was a trip and I was ready for it. So that's really how that went.
She kinda did everything. And so I just basically showed up and then it just rocked my entire world. Fantastic. Had you ever stayed in a Four Seasons hotel before? Yes, I've stayed in a Four Seasons in [00:02:00] Italy. in Venice is one I've stayed in, and one in Taormina in Sicily. that was amazing because, soon as you open up your doors, like, you have the Mediterranean Sea right there.
So that was amazing. So I've definitely stayed in a few. I'm getting the Four Seasons and the St. Regis kinda clumped up in my mind, but I'm trying to remember all the locations 'cause I wanna say- Also Egypt, but that might've been at St. Regis though. But yes, definitely stayed in a Four Seasons.
Awesome. So good. Maybe we'll hear some comparisons to the cruise experience to the hotel experience. So before you even got to the ship, I'm wondering, was there anything before the cruise that made you think "Oh yeah, this is definitely gonna be different"?
I think that told me a lot of [00:03:00] information is the price of the excursion. all the excursions really. I've normally do Norwegian cruises. I'm platinum on Norwegian, so I normally do Norwegian. So, you know, with Norwegian you get your ticket, you're, you meet in the theater and you get your number.
So everybody, number 21, your bus is here. You know? Like, that's how it normally is. Your excursion can be probably no more than $300, right? So it's a range, but normally max is about $300 for an excursion. These excursions, there was one excursion in particular that was $12,000 per person. Yikes. So those excursions let me know what we were walking into.
So there was an excursion for 12,000. There was some for 5,000, you know, and that's per person, you know? So this is crazy. This is [00:04:00] about to be a big deal. And one of the excursions that we had was our ride from the yacht to the place was a helicopter. That's how we got there.
that was our transportation was a helicopter. Prior to us getting on the helicopter, and to answer your question, how did I know, was the excursions. That's how I knew what this was about to be. Wow. Wow. I mean, that answers one of my usual questions, which is, like, how could you tell that these excursions were different than just a regular cruise line?
Definitely the price. And when we get to that portion, I definitely wanna hear about the helicopter ride excursion. That's just the start. And I'm sure that's- ... just the start. The $12,000 one was a private chef and something else at the Pope's summer estate. Wow. And that also, you had to get a helicopter to get there as well.
I'm sure. Yes, I'm sure. So that was another [00:05:00] one. So that was a big one. So yeah. Mm-hmm. And it was probably full . It was probably the first excursion to sell out. Well, everything was really private. It was never really more than us. So if it was more people, they probably staggered it, but it always felt like it was just you and the person you were with every time.
Wow. Wow. I do like that. That sort of exclusivity, it's the exact opposite of being shuttled into, the theater to be put on-- given a- number and then shuttled onto the bus, so, Yes ... so I love that. I love that. Tell us, when your first walk on the ship, what was it like? What were your impressions?
Ugh. So we gotta check in. So we check in, and then after we check in, the person walks us to the yacht . So they walk us on, and then they hand us off. So when they hand us off, it's a lot of handoffs. It's [00:06:00] not just like a big bull run, like on a, regular cruise- Mm-hmm
like everybody gets on. Absolutely not. It was a handoff. So this one person took us to the next person, and the next person took us to the next person. So we get on, and we showed him the card. When we showed him the card, he greeted us by our names. and I also have a video of that as well, but they greeted us by name, gave us a white towel to, to wipe our hands, and then immediately gave us,I took champagne, so I got a champagne drink.
My friend, I think she might have got a water possibly. and then they sit us down, asked us if we wanted some caviar. So they had like a big area of just, like, caviar as a welcome snack. And then that person who greeted us, he came, he sat us down, and then we had to wait for the lady to come and take us because she walked us to the cabin.
So it's not just your cabin's ready at whatever time, go [00:07:00] find it on your own. it was truly a one-to-one thing. So when we walked on and you got that amazing greeting, "Hello, my name is... It's so nice to meet you. You're gonna have a wonderful time. Is there anything we can do for you?
Would you like champagne? Would you like a mocktail? Please have a seat, and then when my colleague is ready, she'll come and get you and she'll walk you to your room." Never does that ever happen on another cruise line. So that was, like, amazing in its own right. Yes. Yeah, I love that. That's real personalized service.
It's not like, "Go fend for yourself." It's like, "We're gonna help you. We're gonna escort you, get you to your room, make sure you don't get lost." Yes. Althoughis it 95 people or 95 rooms? It was 95 rooms. Yeah, so- But it was only 137 people from what they said. Yeah. Yeah. So even with 95 rooms, it's hard to get lost, but still, it's very nice- Yeah
to have somebody- Yeah ... escort you. So what was that room [00:08:00] like? Huge. So the room I think was 710 square feet, not including the balcony. I've seen some of the other rooms, but our room was amazing. So we had a double room, two beds, but it also had like a little lounge area. Also had a little table, like we could eat there, and the TV.
So some of the other rooms that I went to kinda had bedrooms, and then, So it was like a one-bedroom suite or a two-bedroom suite. And I would want my room again if I had to go back just based on the logistics of the room, in total. So like I said, the room was huge. I mean, the layout was perfect on the one that we had.
The bathroom was amazing, much bigger than what you would normally get. It didn't even feel like I was on a cruise ship because of how that bathroom was. Double vanity, separate tub, separate shower. Like, it was just absolutely amazing. That room was very big. My first apartment was [00:09:00] 710 square feet. So to have a cabin And I'm not joking, it was literally 710 square feet.
That's how big my apartment was, so that's how big that room was. Yes. That's amazing. Yeah. I think I had mine-- At one point I had one that was, like, probably about that, maybe 900 square feet or, but yeah. For an average balcony stateroom is, like, 210 square feet- Yes. Yes ... that kind of size is amazing.
And the balcony, I mean, I don't know if you know the square footage of the balcony, but give us an idea of, like- I think it was, like, 114. And, and what kind of furniture did they fit for you on the balcony? You had like a couch on the balcony as well as a regular chair. I love that.
So you could lay on the couch and read, which my friend did. She read out there. And then it was a chair, but it was a little chilly, so we couldn't really enjoy the outside as much as we wanted because how kinda cold it was. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, I love the idea of the couch. it just seems a little more decadent than the chaise lounge.
[00:10:00] Like even suite- ... balconies often will have a whole chaise lounge as opposed to just like a chair, which is nice, but then that couch, I don't know, it's just even one step above to me. What was the decor like? Like- Very minimalistic and luxury, as I would like to call it. the bedding was absolutely amazing.
Very thick, like the duvet. I mean, everything I would probably say was in that realm of minimalistic but luxury. It looked like it, everything costs thou- like a million dollars. Like everything like it cost a ton of money. and it might not have, but the way that they had it, kinda laid out- Yeah
definitely. even the TV, I've never seen this type of TV before, but it was a translucent TV. I didn't know that even existed. and the reason why they had translucent TVs was because they said they didn't want anything to obstruct the view because the TV was right in front of the balcony.
but it was kinda catty-corner a little bit, not like right in front, but it was kinda [00:11:00] catty-corner. So if I'm in my bed, the TV was blocking me, but because it was translucent it wasn't, because I could see straight through it to the outside if I wanted to. Even if the TV was off, you know, you can still see straight through it.
You know, literally nothing is obstructing that view. And even if the TV was on, still you could see straight through it. Wow ... they didn't want anything to obstruct it, and that's the reason why they said they have a translucent TV. things like that was, like I didn't even know that was a thing, you know?
So, uh, yeah. and then they have almost like a China, cabinet if you will, with a lot of different like books in there, pictures in there, and everything in there you could buy. So they also had like little decor, but you could buy absolutely everything in there if you wanted.
well, just about every room was different when it came to what was inside of there, but it was so nice. Awesome. I love that. I love those little things, like whoever even thought of a translucent [00:12:00] TV but that's- ... absolutely perfect for a cruise ship Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And that was the biggest TV like I've ever had on a cruise ship.
Normally they're pretty small, you know? But this was, probably over 50 inches. Wow, amazing. I love the bathroom products. So how were the bathroom products? was it a particular brand or just you could tell that it was very well made? It was a particular brand, but I don't remember what the brand was.
I definitely did use it. I liked the soap. it smelled very good and sometimes I did use that lotion. They had nice loofahs in there. The bathroom was heated, the floor, the floors were heated. and then the bathroom and tub was separate, but it was in the same area. So once you walk in, like you open up the door and your shower's on one side and like your tub is on the other side.
And, but it was, the whole entire room was the shower, just the bathtub was just on one side. But they had a huge bench from the whole bench covered that whole side [00:13:00] up, but even that was heated, like I said. So you got that little heated area that was on the bench. You got the floor was heated, like everything.
they had to change the itinerary because of, the weather. So because they had to change the itinerary, we weren't upset because when we had to have an extra sea day , it's fine by us. no feelings hurt because of that. Yeah, I'll just hang out right here in my room.
I'm perfectly happy. Right, exactly. Exactly. Love it. I love it. So let's leave the room and, Mm-hmm ... how was the layout of the ship in general? Zero complaints. I would probably say it was normal when it came to, how a normal layout ship would be. it was 11 decks, but not full 11 decks.
So like the fifth floor was like the main deck. So you have your pool there, you have the bar, you have the salon and then a couple restaurants on that [00:14:00] floor. The sixth floor, they had a few restaurants there. I don't think anything on the seventh or eighth as far as any, it was just, like rooms.
So it wasn't everything on every floor like how sometimes on other ships are. It was just a couple of, floors there. And then like on the 11th floor was like more of a private And it's weird to say, but the best way I can describe it, it seemed like a rooftop. Even though it's all outside, but it just felt like a rooftop that was on the 11th floor.
And just saying it, but that's the way it felt. Like- Yeah ... the fifth floor, with the pool is still outside, but it didn't give that vibe of rooftop, but the 11th floor gave rooftop vibes. it was crazy. I'm picturing, like, a bar with some really comfortable- Yeah
seating, like benches and, like, couches and- But that's how the fifth floor was too, is what I'm saying. Hmm. So that's the reason why it's really crazy for even me to say it, because You have a bigger bar on the fifth floor. You have the comfy like cabana even big [00:15:00] couches. You have the even chairs, you have tables, you have all of that on the fifth floor.
But on the 11th floor, you still have a bar, you still have chairs, but it just gave rooftop energy. Yeah. It really, really, really did. It gave rooftop energy. Maybe because it wasn't so huge, it was kind of, a little bit smaller. and it still was a pool up there too, but it was, much smaller than a fifth floor pool.
Yeah. Well, I love that they're able to, create different environments- Yes ... in that kind of a, in that size of a ship. So speaking of bars and food, tell us about the food and the different restaurants. Now first of all, food was not included. So you did have to pay for all of your food and drinks.
But I will say breakfast was included. there were two places you could have breakfast, which was Terrazze and, Pistachio, Cafe. So those are the two places you could have breakfast, and everything else you had to pay for. I'm a champagne [00:16:00] girl, so I'm champagne down, so that's all I really had.
And on that first maiden voyage, they were free pouring Dom Pérignon, so I was heavy on the drinks on the maiden voyage, when we first got on. but as far as the food,It wasn't like, say, a Norwegian or, like, a Royal, where it was tons there was no buffet, first of all.
So no buffet. you ordered everything that you wanted. They had some specialty restaurants. Like, they had, a Japanese restaurant and they had, like an American restaurant, and then they had a French restaurant. There was a Michelin quality as far as the restaurants that they had.
So, it wasn't too much of a difference every single day. Like sometimes you expect, you know, different options, but that wasn't it. It was kinda like the same menu every day. So I think hopefully that does get better, but the options of food was very small. Yeah. Yeah. and that's interesting that it's not included.
I mean, because usually when we think of [00:17:00] ultra-luxury, everything is included. Your Wi-Fi is included, your food is included, your beverages are included. Even for some lines, the excursions are included, and it sounds like you're really paying for the yacht and the room. Everything. Yes. Yes. and everything else
is an upcharge. and how were the prices in comparison to like a restaurant on land? Did they subsidize it a little bit- ... or was it sort of like, "No, this is what I would expect to pay in a Michelin quality restaurant on land too"? I would probably say it was a normal price. So like, I wanna say my lunch might've been like $60 one day.
That was a appetizer, and then I got a salad, and I think that might've been like 60 bucks. And I mainly got a salad almost every day. I was trying to watch myself. So I think it was reasonably priced as far as the restaurants. it was overpriced like some things can be, because where else are you gonna get it?
I do feel like it was reasonably priced. Like I have a [00:18:00] restaurant here that I go to for salads. It's about 20, $22, and that's how much it was on the yacht as well. So it wasn't like it was the exact same price. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
'Cause you know, sometimes the specialty restaurants on a ship, they don't charge the same. They might charge- No ... like, I don't know, $50 per person or something, rather than what you usually pay- No, it was pretty good. Now, I can't speak for all the restaurants because I didn't try them all. and then because we had bad weather and because we didn't get to go to one of the ports, they covered lunch for one of the days.
So we did try, uh, the French restaurant, but my friend and myself, we're not adventurers when it comes to food. Um, we were like, "Why not?" We were... And it, and with the Michelin food, you know, you get small portions. Mm-hmm. So we did try it. We were hungry like 20 minutes later because it was like a piece of chicken, literally.
And so we, "What am I supposed to do with this?" So, you know, it definitely, you did get that with [00:19:00] those restaurants. Um, but we didn't try them all. We kinda stuck with what we kinda liked every day. And then- Yeah ... the biggest thing that I loved about the ship, is everybody knew your name. Everyone, everybody knew your name.
People who I've never seen, never talked to they knew me, they greeted me every single time. And it was just like, how do you know my name? Like, I never even said anything to you." And that to me was the most amazing thing ever. Yeah. And when it came to the excursions you know, like I said, you walk to the theater, and then you get on your bus.
But with these excursions, they come and get you from your room, and then they walk you to your personal driver, and then you get in your personal Mercedes, and then your Mercedes drives you to wherever you're going. Yeah. Yeah. And so tell us about that helicopter excursion. Um, I guess your Mercedes drove you to the helicopter port or airport pad.
Yes. [00:20:00] Yes. Yeah, so they drove us to the private airport. So we had a private airport, uh, and then the helicopter, like, came maybe 30 minutes later. He was like, "I'm your pilot for the day." And so we walked out. Of course, we took plenty of pictures. And, it was a 15-minute ride I think we were in Marseille, and then-- and this was in France, by the way.
the port was Marseille, but the location that we had to go to was Provins. So it was a 15-minute helicopter ride. And it was so nice and so beautiful, just that view. Now, that was my third time in a helicopter. The first two times I was terrified, but this time I just think I was overly excited, where it didn't really bother me this go around.
but our destination was an actual Michelin star restaurant. And it was a 10-course restaurant. And I first, again, did not know that even existed. And then also, you don't [00:21:00] know what you're about to eat. you know, they put the food down in front of you.
And then there was a girl who every course, they would put a card down in front of you. Now, it wouldn't say, like, appetizer or dinner. It would say ducks crossing the street. it would say stuff like that to let you know, like, what you're possibly about to get. Everything, like I said, I am not adventurous when it comes to food.
So this was way past my comfort zone on the foods. they had a sardine mousse it was heavy on the what is happening here. Like they had a sardine mousse and they had a snail soup with snails at the bottom of the soup.
And then, every course they came to tell you how the chef came up with this meal. So, "Oh, the chef, he was here and he thought about this And that's where this meal came from." And then, it also came with I think either six or eight pairings [00:22:00] of wine also, with it.
But some of the courses I was fine with, but some of them were way above my pay grade when it came to what to eat. Like, if you have a green bean like the pea that's inside the green bean? There was a meal where it was as if they took all of those out of the green bean and put it on your plate.
Like it was that and caviar and a piece of bread. So it was way past my comfort zone. And then there was a helicopter. So it was only one helipad. I'm assuming because they have a heliport there, right? That people land there all the time to come to this restaurant because one of the waiters, like they come and get you from the helicopter to walk you inside the restaurant.
So it's not like you just get out and you just go. No. So apparently ahead of time, they let you know, "Hey, we're gonna be coming there. We're landing at this time. Please have somebody, you know, ready waiting." So they, [00:23:00] you know, we get out, they walk us inside, we get the little view, and then, you know, they seat us and immediate.
So it was quite amazing. And then like I said, every course you had no idea. The food, the dessert was amazing. Like now that really was amazing. I did eat that. which I got like three scoops of sorbet, but they also had another dessert which was above my pay grade that I did not eat.
I didn't even attempt it. Like I said, I just can't. but I did post all of this, so like people laughed at me heavily because I do, as what I call it, have an unsophisticated palate. But that was just probably the most amazing thing just to have those experiences that I never would've thought to do, wanted to do .
It was just, "All right, we're here now. let's have at it." So I mean, these experiences is just a most amazing. Yeah. I'm definitely gonna scroll back and try and find that dinner video to see all the different courses and all the different sort of [00:24:00] descriptions. It really sounds more than just a meal.
almost like a performance, ... the story that they were crafting about the meal. I think they lost me with the snails at the bottom of the soup. Oh. Definitely they did. they had a cheese course.
and they brought out this big tray. They wheeled out the tray, and when they wheeled out that tray, um, you got to pick what type of cheese, you wanted. And then, of course, that came with its own, you know, wine. and I am probably the only one in the world who doesn't like cheese, so "I'll just take a little bit," 'cause I'm just not a cheese person.
So, but it was so nice to see, so pretty to see. And then, there was one where it was with chocolate, and they had to take, like, a tiny nail and a tiny hammer and break the chocolate up, scoop it, and then, like, put it on the plate. And I'm sitting here, and The way that they do it does look like rock, looks like dirt, the way that they do it, and
it is a performance. Like, that's what they [00:25:00] want. That's what they want you to, see and enjoy because you also eat with your eyes. So it was amazing, and I'm sure I probably will never experience that again, but it was most amazing. And then the chef came out and spoke to us.
And that's why the excursions cost that much, because these are not sort of your everyday, like, even for restaurants that you may have to make a reservation, you know, six months in advance. Like, that's next level. That's really next level. And then you took the helicopter back?
No. somebody else took the helicopter back. So this was a restaurant, and there was one other couple that was there. So we got it going in, they got it going back, and there was only one helipad. So we got a scenic ride back, which is what we wanted anyway, because we wanted to be able to see the city, because we've never been to Provence before.
Like, we've been to France a dozen times, but not necessarily Provence. So to be able to see the city from the ground was very amazing as well. Oh, yeah. That does sound nice. Plus after, even though I'm sure it's, like, one [00:26:00] bite, 10 courses, I'm sure at the end, the last thing I, I think I would prefer to take the helicopter there than the helicopter back just for- Yeah
my digestion. Right. So we got to see it from the air and the ground. Yeah. That sounds beautiful. Yeah. what was the entertainment like? Uh, like what's going on in the evenings? Really nothing. This is a cruise where if you're looking for entertainment, I would not suggest you take it.
They had one singer there one for one night, and then they had a costume designer who designs for movies. She was there talking about costumes she made. And then there was another guy who was a Broadway singer and that's it. So this is not like trivia night or things like that, or like ice skating
it's not that type of cruise. So if you're looking for entertainment, something to do 8:00, 9:00, it's not happening. [00:27:00] Yeah. Good to know. Good to know what to expect. What about like spa or gym? Yeah. How were those? Yes. So the spa was nice. The gym was nice as well. The spa, um, definitely took advantage of that.
The sauna was very nice because in that sauna they had, I think it was like three huge windows. So as you're sitting there, you know, sweating and you're looking out at that sea, you lose track of time. They also had an infrared sauna as well, and they had that TV while you do the infrared sauna. And then the, room itself to get the whatever's, you know, service, it was wonderful.
They had a cold plunge pool as well as ice baths. So they had all of that there. Like the spa was very tranquil very nice, on the expensive side. Now that was on the expensive side. The gym was good. it was never overcrowded. It wasn't huge. It was just enough.
You know, they had weights. [00:28:00] They had, um, like a rower machine. They had treadmills. They even had, um, something for Pilates. So I think I only have ever been in there with maybe one or possibly two other people every single time I went in there. Awesome.
Anything else that we left off that you would want the audience to know about Four Seasons Yachts? Um, I would probably say that was the nicest group of cruise ship workers I've ever encountered in my life.
they also did not know what the word no meant. I did not hear it. It was a nine-day cruise. I never heard no even if they probably should have, they never said it. Like, my friend, she wanted ice cream. She wanted vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. And at the time where the ice cream is, it closed at 6:00.
It's [00:29:00] about 9:00 and she asks for it. This is where no would come into play. And so they were like, yeah. You would like some too?" Talking about me. And I'm like, "No, no, no, no, just the one." "Okay, I'll bring back two." And I'm like, I don't want any." And so they brought back the ice cream and then she says, "Well, we're gonna go see this lady sing," because it, it starts at 9:30.
She asks for it probably like 9:25. And she's like, "I'm gonna go watch the lady sing. We're gonna go to the theater." And then they were like, "We'll bring it to you." So they had the ice cream. It wasn't just two scoops with a chocolate fudge on it, chocolate syrup.
it was like a little vanilla wafer in it, and then they had like small little cherries. Like they, plated the-- I said, "They didn't have to do all of that." And so like, not only did she get it, but they brought it to wherever we were going to be, so it's like, no matter what.
And then we went to Malta. So the cruise left from [00:30:00] Malaga, Spain, and it was still in Spain, France, and Malta. So when we went to Malta, we went to this, I said Italy, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. I did say Italy. Okay. So we went to this Italian restaurant, which was amazing, and she liked it so much that we was like, "Let's get some to go and take it back."
So she called the people and she said, "Hey I wanna bring back some spaghetti. Uh, will you guys be able to heat this up for me when we get back?" And they were like, "Absolutely." That should've been a no too, right? So they were like, "Absolutely." So we bring the food back and, uh, when it was time to eat, she called them up, so they came to the room.
They came and got our food. They took it, you know, to wherever. They heated it up, put it on a nice little plate, and brought it back to us. So it's just like, when no should've been said, no was never said. So- Yeah ... after that type of cruise, I don't know how I'm supposed to go back to [00:31:00] 3,000 people on a ship when it was only 130.
No one will ever know my name on a regular cruise ship. No one will walk me anywhere. I will be on a huge bus with probably 100 and something other people going to this excursion, and I was driven in the Mercedes in a helicopter with one other person. And I get emails all the time to book and I'm like, "I, I can't.
I can't." Can't do it. Can't do it. Can't do it. Yeah. I don't blame you. with it being the inaugural sailing, was there anything special that they did?
Because I don't know about after the fact if they do this on all of them, but I do know they did a nice little toast saying that they were, this was the inaugural one. I also don't think the free-flowing Dom is on every one, but I know it was on ours because of it.
so they, did a big toast. I think that was nice. And then on the fifth floor in the [00:32:00] grand salon that's where they also have I don't wanna say cocktail hour, but around a certain time everybody comes and they gather and then they have drinks there as well. So whatever. So they have a tray, well, not a tray, but like a, like a cart I should say.
So it's like a cart and they have champagne and then they have prosecco and, um, like a mocktail celery juice or pineapple juice or whatever. And this is what they're expecting you, "Well, which one of these do you want?" Somebody was like, "Uh, I would like a Manhattan." "One second, be right back."
You know? It's just like whatever. It's "Whatever you want." Yep. And then, like I said, I'm a champagne girl, but they had a prosecco and the lady was like, "Oh, this is really good." And I was like, do you mind? Can I just taste that real quick? I just wanna just taste it." So the lady I asked for a taste, and so she poured me a whole glass and I was like, "No, no, no, no, no."
Like I'm telling her to stop. And I was like, um, "I just wanted to taste it." She was like, "It's fine. Now you have a glass on me." And I just [00:33:00] wanted to taste it. Like I didn't need a glass. I just wanted to taste the prosecco to see if it was something that I wanted. But she was like, "Don't worry, I got it."
And I'm like, there's no way I could have this job. Like I cannot smile at you 24/7, right? I cannot. I don't know how they do it, but everyone looked so happy to be there. And I would have to say like maybe the treatment might be a little bit different. Like maybe, But there are like a lot of privileged on, on that yacht.
there are different room categories as well. So on the room that we had, there were three categories below ours Mm-hmm And there were three categories above ours, and then there were seven categories above those three. Okay? So the top room is on the 11th floor, And I'm gonna ask you to guess how much that room is.
for the entire nine nights, I'm gonna [00:34:00] go with 90,000.No, I'm gonna guess again. 150,000. Okay. So first, that 90,000 is what our room cost- Yes ... know, on the third level- Yeah ... of what we had.
There is $150,000 room, but I think that was, when I said there was seven above, that's the first tier of the seven. So that- Uh-huh ... first tier of seven is 150, but that last room is $350,000. For nine nights. Wowza. And did you get to see that room? Just a little bit. It wasn't 100% finished yet, so, you can see it on the website, but it is huge.
It is a very big room. It's like three floors. So it's three floors. and then you have, like you have a elevator, you have the whole deck is yours on on, on, for that particular room. You [00:35:00] have the whole deck. You have your own pool. You never really have to leave, honestly. And then you have your own, like, a butler.
The room that was next to ours I think was 150, and I did take a video of that, but for whatever reason, apparently I didn't hit the play button or the record button, so I didn't get any of it, and I am livid. That was a two-bedroom suite. So if it were two couples, two couples could share that room, and it's not a per person price.
It's the entire price of the entire thing. So if it is $100,000, you can divide that by four or, you know, whatever. Yeah. But it's not a per person thing. It's the entire thing. That's good to know. That's really good to know. Yeah. Awesome. Wow. Well, thanks for sharing the prices. People always wanna know, or I always wanna know, so I appreciate that.
And so many people are, hesitant to but yeah, we wanna know how much does this actually cost? if you're paying that much for a cruise and then the food and drinks [00:36:00] aren't included, at that point what's the point of the drinks
If you're able to pay that much- ... for a cruise and you're worried about having to pay for dinner, then yeah, it's sort of like, should you actually be on this cruise? Like. Yeah. I did get the biggest question, just in case people are gonna ask this question, but I'll go ahead and answer it.
The price that I paid for food total I think, 'cause we also did room service, a lot as well. I think the entire price I think I paid about 3 to $400 maybe. In total? Um- For nine days? Yeah. Yeah. That's not bad. I mean, you were eating off, I'm sure you would eat in port sometimes too, but really for nine days, that's really not bad.
Yeah. The places that we ate in the port was also included in the excursion, so, and it was a lot of Michelin restaurants that we ate at. But yeah, I think I paid about [00:37:00] three, four, we'll just call it $500. But- that's what it was. And, I didn't really drink a lot because I was very toasted from day one, so I was like, "That's enough."
I was throwing them back. I mean, that was just Dom. How could I not? I was having an amazing time on that thing. I think that's about it. But yeah, I just don't see how I can do it again because I feel like when I get on there, I'm gonna be like, "Ugh, who are all these people?"
I feel like that's what I'm gonna do. Yeah. Why are they here? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. It's gonna take some time to get back to that. We weren't gonna get off. We definitely looked to see how much it was to stay on. there was another couple that actually did not get off, and they stayed on for the next, itinerary.
So it wasn't the same itinerary. And so sometimes, you know, like let's just say it's Italy Spain and Malta. That next one will do Malta Italy, or Malta, Spain, and Italy. Like they'll just, you know, Back to back ... back and forth. Yeah. So, but this one is [00:38:00] not. So it's literally a different excursion, I mean, a different, route every time.
So they left Malta and went to Greece. So it was Greece and Turkey on that next one. So my friend wanted to know how much it was. We really did not want to get off. So we were looking to see how much it was for us to stay on. Now, that second sailing didn't have as many people as we had on ours either. So, like the price was really good, and so we looked at changing our flight to come back, like how much is...
And we're both in the tech world, so we had our computers with us just in case anything happened. We still needed to work. So because we still had our computers we could stay on. We could stay on it definitely if we wanted to. So, but we didn't because, we decided we're gonna look, 'cause they're gonna have two more yachts come out.
So it's the Four Season 1, 2, and 3, so I think she wants to wait until 2 comes out and then do one of those. Yeah. We would love to have either one of you on to tell us about Four Seasons Yachts as [00:39:00] well. Compare and contrast, you know? And speaking of compare and contrast, we talked at the beginning about comparing it to the hotel.
So- Yeah ... how would you compare the Four Seasons Yacht to staying at the hotel? Again, let's just say Norwegian, Royal Caribbean is, people would normally say that's like a floating city, right? Like these are floating cities. The best way I could describe this is it's a floating hotel. It just felt like it was a Four Seasons hotel on water.
Like it did not feel like a floating city. It felt like I was in a hotel on the water. So the only difference I can honestly say is that the people at the hotels or everybody at the hotel, they don't know me, so they don't, you know, greet me. But everything else was the exact same. The level of service probably a little different [00:40:00] again because these people don't know you, you know, every single guest that come in that hotel because of all those rooms, right?
So I think that's probably the only thing is that they don't greet you per- every person doesn't greet you personally because they can't. I think literally that's it. It literally felt like I was in a floating hotel. Beautiful. That- A floating luxury hotel. That is beautiful. I absolutely love that. I love that.
Well, tell us what is next. Do you have any other luxury cruise or luxury travel planned? Yes, I am always traveling. And let me ask you, if you had to guess, I just told you my life is nothing but travel, how many times a year do you think one travels? Like, how many trips do you think they take a year?
Because I'm asking this because I need to know if I'm overboard or I'm normal. So, I think that the average family of [00:41:00] means who has a relatively high vacation budget probably travels four times a year. So if you have kids, around your kids' school holidays, you know, the Christmas holiday, the spring break, once in the summer, and then maybe another trip here and there just for, like, a weekend or whatever.
How many trips a year on average do you take? On the low end, which is very rare, but 12. Once a month. And that's about once a month. At least. But on the high end, it can be over 24. So like one month in the month of May, last year, I took five in May, so every week I was gone somewhere.
So like the first week I was in LA, second week I was in Mexico, third week I was in Amsterdam, and fourth week I was in San Francisco. And then, well, maybe it was four, four trips that year, per month. So that's kinda how my life is. So I did four in [00:42:00] one month where, like you just said, people do four in one year.
I can't go a month without going somewhere. And that's why I say on the low end I do leave on Wednesday, so it's like I'm always gone. the next extreme luxury cruise I'm going on, I think it's Aqua Expeditions. That is a very small, that is, still a luxury cruise, but it's much smaller than the Four Seasons.
That one, uh, people gonna ask about the price. I don't know the different levels, but ours is $30,000 per person on that one. one of the big, uh, excursions she wants to do is swimming with whale sharks. So I will not be doing that one whatsoever, but she is going to be doing that.
Um, she is my travel buddy. I am her travel buddy, and whenever I see something, and matter of fact, This is how it works with us. So I see something, I'm like, "Oh, this amazing." So I would be like, "I wanna go." So I ask her, and I don't just say, like, 'cause I haven't been to Japan yet, [00:43:00] and I wanna go to Japan and I wanna do sumo wrestling, and I want to rent- a friend.
They have, there's a thing- Oh, yeah ... where you can rent a friend and rent a husband, right? ... and that's what we wanted to do. and how I ask her, and I just text her this, I said, "Can I interest you in sumo wrestling and renting a husband?" And she's like, "What's the dates?"
I say, "Can I interest you in London?" And she says, "Yes." She's like, "Why, yes, you can." So I'm like, "All right, these are the dates and this is what I wanna do." And then it's the reverse. but she doesn't say it to me that way. She'll say, "Are you free, June 2nd through, you know, June 10th?"
And I'm like, "Yeah." She's like, "All right, well, this is where we're going." "All right. Let's go." But- Let's go ... And I think, and a lot of times, because I said we're in the tech world, so we can work anywhere, and so a lot of it, like, we'll go to whatever location and we'll just work from there because the time difference will be so big where we can have our whole entire day and then we just work at night .
Yeah. Yeah. That's the beauty of sort of being able to [00:44:00] work virtually. Well, Joy, this has been a real joy having you. I'm sure you never heard that before. ... but I found you on TikTok. Sounds like you've also got another channel on Instagram. I definitely wanna go back and look at that dinner video.
If other people wanna find your contact, content and follow your luxury travels, how can they do it? I am Travel Bug Diva on Instagram and TikTok. So Travel, T-R-A-V-E-L, uh, Bug, B-U-G, Diva, D-I-V-A on both. I have way more on Instagram than I do on TikTok 'cause I kinda just started with TikTok, so even the followers, I think I only have maybe 1,200.
But on Instagram, I have well over 10,000. Amazing. Amazing. Well, I will definitely look for you there. And to all the listeners, thank you again for being here. I hope you enjoyed hearing about Four Seasons Yachts [00:45:00] as much as I did, and until next time, I wish you safe and luxurious cruising.